The Business Review Journal

Forecasting U.S. Department of Defense Budget Levels

Jamie Seim, Jacksonville University, FL

Dr. Gordon W. Arbogast, Jacksonville University, FL

Lynsey Seim, Jacksonville University, FL

Jay Marcus, Jacksonville University, FL

ABSTRACT

The Department Of Defense (DOD) is a part of the executive branch of the United States Federal Government. Its mission is to protect and defend the United States (US) and to provide security for its citizens. To perform these tasks, DOD is dependent upon a significant portion of the US federal budget for its funding. The percentage of the federal budget allocated to the DOD appears to be based on the government’s evaluation of several political, economic and social factors. The focus of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between the actual DOD budget and one or more of these factors. The result of the study produced a regression model that explains 82.14% of the variation in the target ratio with a 0.05 level of significance. Four variables might well have a relationship with the DOD budget. The four variables in order of impact are: (a) House Majority Political Party, (b) Doomsday Clock Value, (c) US President’s Political Party, and (d) US Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate. The ability to predict DOD budget levels may provide defense contractors and other supporting firms with a tool to forecast potential business opportunities and capital expenses. The strong presence of political factors may be a key indicator to DOD businesses to ensure they are balancing an appropriate level of politically motivated drivers within their corporate and competitive strategy models. Further recommendations for the study include the need for a more detailed investigation of the specific political, economic, and social factors that may have an impact on the percentage of total US Federal Budget allocated to the DOD. To produce more accurate study results, new variables should be selected and bigger sample should be obtained.

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The Effects of Professional Development Expenditures Towards High School Completion on Kauai

Dr. Larson Ng, University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI

ABSTRACT

The following study attempted to analyze professional development expenditures and its relationship towards high school completion, among the public high schools, located on Hawaii’s Island of Kauai. Using a correlation and bivariate linear regression procedure, the revealed econometric relationship between professional development expenditures and high school completion, from 2000 to 2007, was disturbing. Although professional development expenditures had predominately increased, for all high schools, increases in high school completion were not observed, for all schools. Moreover, with the exception, of Kauai and Niihau High Schools, there was no conclusive econometric evidence, to indicate that the professional development expenditures contributed, to higher levels, of high school completion. Instructional support (i.e., professional development) is another critically important factor that contributes, to high school completion. In many cases, the amount, of instructional support, provided to teachers is detrimental, in their efforts, of assisting students, to graduate, from high school (Domitrovich, Gest, Gill, Bierman, Welsh, & Jones, 2009). Although there are many techniques, to measure the productivity, of the many elements that comprise instructional support, assessing its effectiveness through a financial perspective, remains one practical way, to accomplish this task (Beard, 2009)..

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Using Cost-Benefit Analysis for Evaluating Decision Models in Operational Research

Dr. Awni Zebda, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Texas

ABSTRACT

Operation researchers and management scientists have recommended that the use of decision models should be subject to cost-benefit analysis. This paper provides insight into the cost-benefit analysis and its shortcomings as a tool for evaluating decision models. The paper also identifies and discusses the limitations of alternative evaluation methods. Understanding the limitations of cost-benefit analysis and the other evaluation methods is essential for their effective use in evaluating decision models. Over the years, management scientists and operational researchers have proposed quantitative and mathematical models to aid decision making in business organization. Decision models for problems such as capital budgeting, cash management, manpower planning, profit planning, and inventory planning and control represent an integral part of management science/operational research literature as well as the literature of the functional areas of management such as accounting, finance, marketing, personnel management, and production and inventory management. The development and use of decision models can be costly. Thus, establishing the value of these models is a necessary prerequisite for their use by practicing decision makers (e.g., Finlay and Wilson [1987], Hill and Blyton [1986]). According to Gass [1983, p. 605], "the inability of the analyst [and researcher] to demonstrate to potential users ... that a model and its results have ... credibility [and value]" is one of the primary reasons that models are not widely used in practice.

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How Attribution Explains Consumers’ Views of Penalties

Dr. Young Kim, Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA

ABSTRACT

Penalties are used as an integral part of pricing strategies for many service organizations today. While consumers have displayed dissatisfaction with penalties over the years, very few organizations have paid attention to the impact of penalties and made efforts to understand the implications of penalty management. This study investigates how consumers view penalties using attribution theory and examines how attribution is related with consumers’ penalty evaluations and behavioral intentions (e.g., intentions to repatronize, intentions to spread negative word-of-mouth). The hypotheses are tested using data collected online from customers in various industries. The results show that locus of attribution is significantly related with customer dissatisfaction, intentions to repatonize, and intentions to spread negative word-of-mouth. Qualitative data are used to support the results of quantitative data analyses, and implications of the results are discussed. American consumers today are bombarded with many different types of penalties ranging from fees involving cancellation, late return, overdraft of a bank account, and late payment to fees associated with restocking of returned merchandise. Penalties are fees assessed by service organizations to consumers who fail to complete the original purchase agreement (McCarthy and Fram 2000). While some penalties are considered defensive in nature and viewed as necessary because they are intended to protect organizations from harm caused by the customers (e.g., a customer who cancels a flight schedule a day before the departure will actually harm the airline company because the company could not sell the seat), others may be regarded as unreasonable and excessive.

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Performance Measures and Profitability Factors of Successful African-American Entrepreneurs:

An Exploratory Study

Dr. Barbara L. Adams, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC

Dr. Viceola Sykes, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC

ABSTRACT

This exploratory study was conducted to determine what financial and non-financial measures executives of African-American companies perceive as important and what factors they used to measure their success. The chief executives of some of the nation’s largest black-owned businesses are making it clear that they will not be held back by conventions or boundaries that have plagued many minority owned companies. In spite of the record growth of black-owned businesses in recent years, there has been little research on such companies. Data for this study was collected by a survey of the chief executives of Black Enterprise Magazine’s 100 list, which includes the top 100 industrial/service companies and the top 100 auto dealers, ranked according to revenue. The results indicate that both financial and non-financial performance measures and profitability factors are an integral part of the management strategies employed by “successful” African-American entrepreneurs. The growth of African-American businesses has been expanding significantly over the last decade. A report published by the Milken Institute (1998) indicates that from 1987 to 1992, the number of minority-owned firms (Blacks, Hispanic and Asian) grew at a rate of 4.7%, which was double the rate of all U. S. firms. In comparison, African-American owned businesses increased at a rate of approximately 8%.

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A Review of Employee Motivation Theories and their Implications for Employee Retention within Organizations

Dr. Sunil Ramlall, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, MN

ABSTRACT

The article provides a synthesis of employee motivation theories and offers an explanation of how employee motivation affects employee retention and other behaviors within organizations. In addition to explaining why it is important to retain critical employees, the author described the relevant motivation theories and explained the implications of employee motivation theories on developing and implementing employee retention practices. The final segment of the paper provides an illustration with explanation on how effective employee retention practices can be explained through motivation theories and how these efforts serve as a strategy to increasing organizational performance. In today’s highly competitive labor market, there is extensive evidence that organizations regardless of size, technological advances, market focus and other factors are facing retention challenges. Prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks, a report by the Bureau of National Affairs (1998) showed that turnover rates were soaring to their highest levels over the last decade at 1.3 % per month. There are indeed many employee retention practices within organizations, but they are seldom developed from sound theories. Swanson (2001) emphasized that theory is required to be both scholarly in itself and validated in practice, and can be the basis of significant advances. Given the large investments in employee retention efforts within organizations, it is rational to identify, analyze and critique the motivation theories underlying employee retention in organizations.

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